FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Faces tell a story. It follows, then, that many faces tell many stories. Visitors to Mullins Library can browse through several such stories in a photography exhibit currently on display titled “Strangers & Not So Strange” by Fayetteville photographer Craig E. Nelson.

A native of Florida, Nelson has made Fayetteville his home since 1999, and can often be seen, prowling around the downtown and Dickson Street area, experimenting with his motley collection of cameras. The series of portraits currently on display in Mullins Library were all taken with a Mamiya RB67 Pro-S using Fujifilm FP-100C, a 3-inch by 4-inch instant, peel-apart pack-film modeled after Polaroid’s now discontinued versions. The portraits were taken at Brewski’s, a bar on Dickson Street, using only available light, with no reflectors or other secondary light sources. Nelson says, “I favor hard fall-off, contrast, what most people would refer to as chiaroscuro or Rembrandt lighting, but absent any use of weak-side fill.”

"#27 in the Series"

"#41 in the Series"

"#97 in the Series"

The images are deceptively straightforward. They are mostly focused on the subjects’ faces, though some contain individuals photographed from the waist up. Nelson comments, “The work is very simple, straightforward, and posing is minimal. The latter is restricted to turning the subject into or out of the light.”

The results are striking and unusually fascinating. The viewer is absorbed by the beauty and underlying character evident in each face. Nelson explains, “What results is a glimpse beneath the skin, a peek at the animal under the surface. In essence, I am working to remove the masks that we often feel compelled to wear.”

Nelson feels that his portraits that are made “up close, in the face of my subject, at less than arm’s length” give the viewer “permission to stare, to drink in every line and blemish, to stop and smell the rose.”

He adds, “Many subjects find it difficult to stare directly into the lens,” because “we live in a society in which direct eye contact is often considered intimidating, verboten unless the eyes regarding each other belong to lovers, family members, perhaps the optometrist.”

Nelson creates a personal and intimate experience for the viewer that is similar to his as the photographer by making his prints small, 5 inches by 5 inches, which forces the viewer to come in close.

In regard to the intimacy suggested by openly staring into a stranger’s face, Nelson ponders, “Does it trouble us to look at them?” One gets the feeling that Nelson would be pleased if it did.

"Strangers & Not So Strange" will be on display in Mullins Library lobby level through the end of August. For more information, including a full listing of images in the collection (there are dozens to date), or to contact Nelson about this or other projects, please visit: http://nelsonfoto.com.